1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner designed to clean dust and foreign objects by way of instant suction of air via mechanical means, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner suction apparatus to improve a suction efficiency of dust and foreign objects and to minimize production costs by reducing the number of parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a vacuum cleaner comprises, as shown in FIG. 1, a suction apparatus(100) to suck dust and foreign objects by suction force, transporting means(200) to move the sucked dust into a collecting zone and subsequently into a main body(300) for accumulation of the transported dust.
The suction apparatus(100) comprises a dust detecting light(110), transporting wheels(120) at both sides and a connecting pipe(130) on the rear upper end. The transporting means(200) is inserted for a first and a second plastic extension pipes(210, 220) connected to the hollow part of the connecting pipe(130). There are two switches, one for air velocity control and the other for power control, at a handle control part(230) which is connected with the extension pipes(210, 220) and a flexible hose. The main body(300) includes a hose connector(310) for the end of the hose(240), a dust signal(320) to indicate the amount of accumulated dust, two wheels(330) at both sides, and a transporting handle(340) to allow a worker to move the vacuum cleaner around to new places to be cleaned.
The suction apparatus(100) is described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the apparatus includes an upper cover(10) with a rectangular slot at one side, a lower cover(30) to be connected to the upper cover(10), a turbine(50) with its protruder being rotated by suction force of the air sucked through the connecting pipe(130), a rotary brush(60) with protruders(61) at its both sides being connected to the turbine and a belt(70) for simultaneous rotation, a shutter(81) to control the amount of air to be sucked through the connecting pipe(130) and a controlling lever(80) with a control handle(82).
At this location, the lower cover(30) includes a first diaphragm(31) with a groove(31a) for the turbine(50) and a second diaphragm(32) with two grooves, one(32a) for the turbine and the other(32b) for one end of the rotary brush(60), a third diaphragm(33) with a groove(33a) for the other end of the rotary brush(60), a void(34) for the controlling lever(80) and a void(35) between the second and the third diaphragms(32, 33) to put the rotary brush(60).
The belt(70) is to connect an end of the protruder(51) of the turbine(50) to that of the rotary shaft(61). As shown in FIG. 4, the control lever(80) includes a handle(82) which is protruded out of the rectangular slot(11) of the upper cover(10) when the upper and lower covers are combined.
Next, the overall operating sequence of the conventional suction apparatus is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. When the main body(300) is rendered operative by supply of electric power, a motor(not shown) in the main body is rotated at a high speed, and thus outside air is sucked into the main body(300) through the suction apparatus(100) and the transporting means(200). The dust and foreign objects sucked into the main body(300) are collected and accumulated into a dust collector after passing through a filter, whereby the cleaning operation can be finished according to an operator's selection.
The air suction force generated by rotation of the motor is controlled by the velocity control switch attached in a handle control part(230) and a control lever(80) shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Therefore, the amount of air to be sucked into the connecting pipe(130) is controlled by opening or closing an air suction channel with a shutter(81) connected to the control lever(80).
It has been found that the suction efficiency of dust and foreign objects by the turbine(50) is reduced in the conventional suction apparatus(100) since the protruder(51) disposed at only one side of the turbine(50) is placed between the first and second diaphragms(31, 32) and since the turbine(50) is installed between the connecting pipe(130) and the air suction channel.
Due to installation of the turbine(50) between the connecting pipe(130) and the suction channel in FIG. 3, almost all the dust and foreign objects infused into the void(35) of the lower cover(30) are transported, regardless of the location of the turbine, along an arrow direction (shown as K) and thus sucked into the connecting pipe(130) in case the shutter(81) of the control lever(80) is completely open; on the other hand, dust and foreign objects are to be trapped in the turbine(50) without being transported along an arrow direction (K) in case the shutter(81) is not completely open, thereby causing incomplete suction of dust and foreign objects into the connecting pipe(130).